SMOT Strategy Document

• Raising the Participation Age (RPA)
Since September 2015, all young people are required to continue in education or training
until their 18th birthday. Young people will need to continue to study or train in one of
several ways:
1. study full-time in a school, college or with a training provider
2. full-time work or volunteering combined with part-time education or training
3. an apprenticeship or traineeship (www.apprenticeships.org.uk)
• Bus Services Act 2017
This Act offers benefits in the short term for student travel mostly around improved data
availability in the form of fares information. This will allow all travellers and in particular
parents making choices of school to be aware of transport costs and permit informed
choices. SCC recognises that in the longer-term home to school transport will be
dependent on a healthy bus market with the capacity to accommodate new capacity
demands in the home to school market
• Rurality and Access
Lack of adequate access to transport for young people in rural areas is a serious issue.
Government statistics show that 28% of the lowest income households and 11% of
overall households in rural areas do not have access to a car; and 53% of low income
households and 42% of overall households in rural areas only have access to one car,
meaning that many young people will have no access to a car. This does not factor in
those who are unable to drive at all. This becomes more of an issue when paired with the
fact that only 49% of rural and isolated dwellings have access to a regular bus or
transport service. Furthermore, it has been found that only 14% of essential services on
average are accessible via public transport to people in rural areas, with it dropping as
low as 8% for those in more remote locations [Department for the Environment & Rural
Affairs, 2016].
Suffolk Context and Strategies Context
Approximately 93,000 children aged 4-16 are educated in Suffolk within 320 schools, and in
addition a further 14,700 students of sixth form age educated in school sixth forms and
colleges of further education. These figures include the 13,000 children and young people
who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and their sustainable modes of travel
are also a component of the principles and priorities outlined in this strategy. In addition,
there are 7,360 children aged 4 to 19 in independent schools (including specialist
independents) in Suffolk aged 4-19.
Suffolk’s total resident population is almost 758,600 [ONS, 2018]; approximately one third live
in the three main towns of Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds, and Lowestoft, a third in the market
towns and a third within the rural areas.
ONS 2018 estimates by District shows the following distribution of population:
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